44 pounds of sugar every year: This is based on data from Coca-Cola’s 2011 Annual Review: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/annual-review/2011/pdf/TCCC_2011_Annual_Review.pdf The Review states on page 12 states that per-capita consumption of its beverages in the U.S. is 3,224 ounces per year. 1/4 of Coke’s unit case volume is a low or no-calorie beverage (page 31), so full-calorie beverages account for 2,418 ounces per capita. There are about 16 packets of sugar in every 20 ounce bottle of full-calorie soda. (http://www.politifact.com/oregon/statements/2012/jul/11/multnomah-county/did-your-kid-just-drink-16-packs-sugar/) A sugar packet contains 1.6 teaspoons, making per-capita consumption equal to 5.04 gallons of sugar. Sugar’s weight by volume is 8.8 pounds per gallon, making average consumption 44 pounds. But this is only using Coca-Cola’s numbers. One might argue that the average soda-drinker consumes far more, since not everyone in America consumes soda, and not everyone who consumes soda consumes a Coca-Cola soda. But these are the numbers we have and the conservative estimates are stark enough. One way to get a fuller picture would be to find Coca-Cola’s soda marketshare and use the 5 gallon ratio to calculate the rest. According to HighBeam Research, Coca-Cola’s 2010 carbonated soft drink marketshare was 41.9 percent, but that also includes diet and low-calorie offerings. Assuming that market share holds the same when just looking at full-calorie offerings, rough estimates are that the average American may consume closer to 12 gallons of sugar from soft drinks a year. This means that the average American might actually consume his or her weight in beverage sugar in less than 2 years.

Just 1 extra can a day increases odds of obesity in children by 60%: Ludwig DS, Peterson KE, Gortmaker SL. Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: a prospective, observational analysis. Lancet. 2001;357:505-8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11229668

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